Bucknell University Athletics
What a Weekend! Bison Teams Combine for Perfect 8-0 Record
10/5/2003 8:00:00 AM | General
Oct. 5, 2003
LEWISBURG, Pa. -- Bucknell's athletics teams pieced together one of the best fall weekends in recent memory over the last 48 hours, combining for a perfect 8-0 record in head-to-head competition, not to mention a pair of first-place finishes from the men's and women's cross country teams and historic performances on the golf course and tennis courts.
Kevin Donner's harriers kicked off the weekend in grand style with a first-place sweep of their own Gulden Invitational on Friday evening. Dan Lounsbury's second-place finish helped the Bison men dominate with seven top-10 finishers en route to a 23-point total. Bucknell's women were just as impressive, scoring 26 points with five runners crossing among the top eight. Julie Jakoboski was the team's top finisher, placing third overall.
The Bison volleyball team added its first of two impressive Patriot League victories on Friday night with a 3-0 sweep of Lehigh. Another three-game victory over Lafayette on Saturday pushed Cindy Opalski's squad to 4-0 in Patriot League play. The Bison have yet to yield a single game in four conference matches heading into next Friday's clash with two-time defending PL champion American in a battle of unbeatens.
On Saturday the Bucknell football team scored a stirring 31-10 upset victory over 14th-ranked Fordham -- the defending Patriot League champion and NCAA quarterfinalist -- in the Bronx. Backed by Daris Wilson's 199-yard rushing effort -- the most ever by a Bison quarterback -- the Herd improved to 3-2 on the season and 1-0 in Patriot League play. Bucknell battles another nationally ranked foe next Saturday when it visits historic Franklin Field for a date with reigning Ivy League titlist Penn.
Bucknell's field hockey team continued its record-setting push for a high seed at the Patriot League Tournament. Saturday's 3-1 win at Lehigh upped the Bison's PL mark to 3-1 and their overall ledger to 7-1. Kate Ruda's two goals helped Bucknell to the win over Lehigh and ensured the Bison's best start in nearly three decades.
Brendan Nash's men's soccer team improved to 2-0 in PL play with a hard-fought 1-0 overtime victory at Colgate. Scott Visnic's team-leading seventh goal of the year in the seventh minute of overtime was the "Golden Goal" in the win over the Raiders. After a non-league stop at Pittsburgh on Wednesday, the Bison booters host Lafayette in a key Patriot League affair next Saturday at 2 p.m.
After a loss and a scoreless tie to start conference play, the Bison women's soccer team need a win over Lehigh on Sunday at West Fields to enhance its playoff hopes. Kerry Fitz-Patrick's goal off a Megan Chipko cross in the 51st minute provided just that in a critical 1-0 win over the Mountain Hawks. Bucknell will look for another key PL home win next Friday against Army.
Also on Sunday, Bucknell's men's tennis team completed a "Steeltown Sweep," scoring a 6-1 win over Robert Morris one day after toppling Duquesne by the same margin. The Bison next weekend will play in the Patriot League Individual Championships at Army.
Two other Bison student-athletes inked their names into the record books this weekend. Senior Samantha Berthod became the women's tennis team's all-time winningest singles player. She picked up her 51st career victory on Friday -- a 6-3, 6-2 win over Hofstra's Jill Spiritus at the Eastern Intercollegiates at West Point -- surpassing Kristina Lutter's nine-year-old school mark of 50 wins.
On Saturday, Frenchwoman Celine Herbin opened with a three-over-par 73 at the Yale Women's Golf Invitational, breaking the school 18-hole record by one shot.
